Technical
Solutions International (TSI) was founded in 2001 by Dr. Stephen Neel for the
purpose of providing technical marketing assistance to international
organizations and companies involved in the agriculture industry.
TSI provides technical training and education programs to the agricultural
industry, drawing upon an international base of experiences and exposure.
In addition to training and education programs, TSI personnel are experts in the
areas of facility assessments and process control programs to minimize or reduce
risk from bacterial contaminations, improve product quality and processing
efficiency. TSI's core training, education and assessment philosophies can
be summarized by the following eight principles:

Principle #1: “Be a Team Player”

We understand that there is a considerable amount
of interest in and criticism of fair and petting zoo activities, especially in
light of recent events and media coverage.Our
trainers are part of your team, and support your efforts to provide a safe and
enjoyable fair experience.We are
here to help.

Principle #2:“Educate & Improve, but Don’t Audit”

Each and every facility has a unique set of
strengths and weaknesses, and it is natural to have some apprehension in
discussing these issues with a stranger.Nobody
wants to talk about “less than perfect” conditions.However, our trainers are focused on enhancing the overall fair-going
experience, and will strive to offer improvements without criticizing existing
conditions or procedures.Consider
us as sympathetic evaluators, not auditors.

Principle #3:“Offer No-Cost or Low-Cost Improvements”

We understand how tight money is, and the
never-ending need to manage limited resources.Our training programs focus on providing no-cost or low-cost ways to
control pathogens and further protect consumers.Promoting costly machinery, testing methods or management systems would
place an undue burden on already tight budget resources.

Principle #4:“Stress Human Empowerment”

Sanitation plans, operational procedures and
protocols are only as effective as the people who implement or monitor them.Our consumer protection programs are based on process control and risk
management models, which rely heavily on human oversight, common sense and
management.Our goal is to empower
people to protect people, not rely on equipment or testing programs to tell us
the environment is safe.

Principle #5:“Be Proactive and Do Something”

Doing nothing, while easy, is the worst thing that
our industry can do to protect consumers.Any
proactive system, procedure or action designed to reduce risk, even slightly, is
an improvement over doing nothing.

Principle #6:“Remember That There is No Silver Bullet”

There is no single procedure, test, machine or
drug that can prevent or cure illness from enteric pathogens.Each and every step or process that reduces the risk of illness, even
slightly, represents an additional hurdle that pathogens must cross to create
harm.The goal of our programs and
training efforts are to introduce multiple hurdles to create a stronger and
safer consumer protection system.

Principle #7:“Reduction Rather Than Elimination”

We do not live in a pathogen free environment.In spite of all that we do, from simple hand washing stations to complex
sanitation systems, there is no known process or system to completely eliminate
the risk associated with enteric pathogens.Pathogens are part of our world, and we must continue to manage our
environment such that risk is reduced and consumers are protected as effectively
as possible.

Principle #8:“Don’t Re-Invent the Wheel”

Our goal is to enhance existing systems, no matter
how simple they may be, rather than re-design or re-create systems from scratch.There is no need to reinvent the wheel, and our trainers are instructed
to augment existing systems, procedures and protocols.Offering additional measures will serve to strengthen existing programs
or facilities for enhanced consumer protection.